January 19: Nehemiah 1:1-11 

The Recounting of God’s promise (verses 8-9) 

The warning against disobedience had been given through Moses and reiterated by God’s prophets, but the remedy had also been specified (Leviticus 26:39-42). Christians are also promised pardon and forgiveness (1 John 1:9). What promises in God’s Word are you claiming? 

Promises, promises…. When we humans talk about promises, we mean anything from “maybe I will” to “I will do whatever it takes.” Some promises we have the ability to keep and some we don’t. Some promises we have the desire to keep and some we don’t. We keep some promises to benefit ourselves and we fail to keep others for our benefit. Promises in the world of humanity are uncertain. However, the promises of God are sure, certain, and unchanging. Because human promises are fragile and unsure, they are often accompanied by something or someone that will secure the fulfillment of the promise should the promise-maker or the promise-made fail. We use an oath to emphasize the seriousness of our promise and the assurance that it will be kept. God always keeps His promises. ALWAYS! God pledges upon His own character to keep His promise. To emphasize that fact, He swears by two immutable (unchangeable) things: His Word and His Oath. 

This is a good thought; if God had sworn by any thing finite, that thing might fail, and then the obligation would be at an end, but he has sworn by what is infinite, and cannot fail; therefore his oath is of eternal obligation. 

Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible  

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Hebrews 6:13-19 

Nehemiah knew God’s Word: 

After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form — doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger —  I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.  
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.  

Deuteronomy 4:25-27

He claims God’s promise: 

But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 

How do I know which of God’s promises are for me? 

There are literally hundreds of God’s promises in the Bible. How can we know which promises apply to us, which promises we can claim? To frame this question another way, how can one tell the difference between general promises and specific promises? A general promise is one that is given by the Holy Spirit to every believer in every age. When the author penned the promise, he set no limitations on time period or recipient. A specific promise is one that is made to specific individuals on specific occasions. The context of the promise will usually make clear who the recipient is. For example, the promise of 1 Kings 9:5 is very specific: “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever.” The preceding and following verses make it clear that God is speaking only to King Solomon. 

GotQuestions.org 

APPLICATION

God has made promises to us, His people, and we have the privilege to claim those promises and expect Him to keep them.

For further study, see https://www.gotquestions.org/God-promises.html; also, you might consider the resource: God’s Promises for Your Every Need, Deluxe Edition, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008.